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Arizona Coyotes' Rick Tocchet teaching now more than ever

Coyotes head coach Rick Tocchet huddles with his players in the 3rd period on Oct. 19, 2017 at Gila River Arena in Glendale, Ariz. The Stars defeated Arizona 5-4.(Photo: Rob Schumacher/azcentral sports)

Huddled in the corner along the boards was Coyotes coach Rick Tocchet and assistant John MacLean with a handful of players.

At the other end of the rink, assistant Scott Allen and goalie coach Jon Elkin were overseeing another group. The remaining players were off the ice.

Rather than reconvening for a hearty practice like the Coyotes usually have after each game during their winless start, the Coyotes changed up their routine ahead of their Saturday meeting at home with the Blackhawks and scattered inside Gila River Arena Friday.

“As a coach, you always want to keep the players’ energy level (up),” Tocchet said. “Sometimes you have to go off the grid a little.”

Since taking over behind Arizona’s bench before the season, Tocchet has focused on the X’s and O’s to help players implement the quick, aggressive style he covets.

But being at the helm of a 0-6-1 group that ranks last in the NHL – this only months after Tocchet was crowned a Stanley Cup champion as an assistant with the Penguins – seems to have magnified his role as teacher.

“He’s been great,” defenseman Niklas Hjalmarsson said. “You almost feel a little bit guilty, too, not to be able to give him that first win. We really want to give him that one, so hopefully we can do that soon. But, yeah, I think he’s been doing a tremendous job here and keeping the spirits up.

“He’s more of a modern coach with the new NHL. He’s been in Pittsburgh and sees how things are around there. Obviously, we don’t have the same team. We have a little bit younger team, and I think he’s a good leader to show those guys the right direction.”

During his 18-season playing career, Tocchet was a model of sustainable success with 440 goals, 952 points and a Stanley Cup. But he recalls being mired in slumps and suiting up for losing teams.

He also remembers how former colleague Mike Sullivan began his tenure as coach of the Penguins amid a winless streak.

“The one thing I learned from him he stayed with the battle,” Tocchet said. “He didn’t waver. Just because you lose five, six games, you’re not going to all of a sudden change everything.”

Tweaks, however, happen, and one adjustment Tocchet has made during the Coyotes’ rough start is to teach even more.

The Fox Sports Arizona broadcast of Thursday’s 5-4 loss to the Stars showed Tocchet inside the Coyotes’ dressing room drawing instructions on the white board during intermission – an in-game tactic he’s started to do more this week.

“Young guys, you can’t assume that they know anything or know stuff,” Tocchet said. “You gotta strip it down, and I decided that last week we’re going to strip it down and I think it’s helped.”

That performance against the Stars was the team’s best so far, trumping their effort two nights prior when they faced the same team in Dallas.

Still, it wasn’t enough to finally coax out a win and despite the lack of results, the Coyotes are trying to stay committed to the process they feel will eventually bear rewards. They’ve decided to have T-shirts made with sayings that represent the team, an idea that Tocchet brought up, defenseman Oliver Ekman-Larsson said.

“We just picked four words that this team stands for to remind everybody when we walk around in there that if we bring this every day," Ekman-Larsson said, "we’re going to have a better chance to win hockey games.”

Ekman-Larsson declined to share the words the group selected, but Tocchet mentioned accountability and attitude as two of the team’s keys – tenets that he identified before the season as essential to the makeover the Coyotes were attempting.

And while the wins that are also necessary to complete this transformation have yet to roll in, the current wave of adversity certainly provides players with the opportunity to hone those important traits.

“If you go on the ice and do the right things consistently,” Tocchet said, “good things are going to happen.”

Reach the reporter at sarah.mclellan@arizonarepublic.com or 602-444-8276. Follow her at twitter.com/azc_mclellan.

Saturday's game

Blackhawks at Coyotes

When: 6 p.m.

Where: Gila River Arena.

TV/radio: FSAZ Plus/KTAR-AM (620).

Outlook: Tocchet hadn't decided which goalie would start Saturday when asked Friday. He isn't sure when goalie Antti Raanta, who's sidelined with a lower-body injury, will rejoin practice, but Tocchet believes Raanta will skate Saturday. Winger Brendan Perlini remains on injured reserve with an upper-body injury. Perlini and Raanta will travel with the team on its upcoming five-game road trip, Tocchet said, while center Brad Richardson (lower-body injury) is questionable to play Saturday. Chicago is winless in its past two games, falling 2-1 to Edmonton in overtime Thursday after losing 5-2 to St. Louis Wednesday. Winger Patrick Kane has a team-high 10 points, and winger Brandon Saad paces the group in goals with six. Goalie Corey Crawford is 4-2 with a 1.83 goals-against average and .947 save percentage. The Blackhawks went 3-0 against the Coyotes last season, with Kane boasting six points in those three games. Chicago hasn't lost in regulation to Arizona since Feb. 7, 2014. The team is 8-0-1 since then and has won the last six meetings overall.